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Jun Shu

Topic 2 Final

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Project link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fIuvafB8F-MnJPV0f2i8kghGVTQIIUqJ/view?usp=sharing

Project background:

I am a superfan of robot animation and I have a lot of models. So, my friends always ask me why some robots are cool but the others are “ugly”? But the fact is that they are not ugly, they just have some features which are not belong to this age.

Project intention:

So, first question arises: Why is the design language of robot always changing in robot animation? What caused it, just because of aesthetic reasons? Or how many other reasons?

In my investigation, I found that aesthetics only accounts for a small part, while the international political background, technological development, and ideological changes are the key factors affecting the robot animation design language.

So, I use the most famous Astro Boy as a clue to tell the audience a story, and use a simple AVG game to illustrate my critical points to explain it to you.

System map:

Prototypes:

Preview:

  • International political background

Astro Boy was born shortly after the end of World War II. Everything was destroyed after World War II, so people need a new hope to place. So Astro Boy appeared in front of the audience as a child, his skin shining, representing new technology and new materials.

During the Cold War, the animation of robots changed. They became larger and larger, and their style changed from bright to dark.

The black wall is inspired by Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech, and the giant robots represent two super countries which are Soviet Union and united states.

  • Ideological changes

During the bubble economy, many youth undertakings in Japan, They became the “Beat Generation” “They have nothing to do but watch cartoons at home. This is an animation, EVA. EVA is more like a religious animation than robot animation. He tells us more about how to save our soul and forgiving himself. You are already great, and you don’t need to work hard. In the era of economic collapse, when everyone is eager to be saved, robot design is more like a god.

World War II also had an impact on the subsequent animation

Gundam is an anti-war animation. Zeon, the villain in the animation, thought that the Nazis were the prototype, and finally he was defeated.

This reflects that people hate wars

  • Development of tech

With the development of science and technology, many high technologies have been integrated into robot design, such as deformable sprinklers and ambulances

The last two endings actually represent two branches of today’s robot animation：The Super robot animation and Realistic robot animation

User test and feedback:

I received a lot of feedback. Most of them praised me for spending a lot of energy on the final output, and the presentation effect was very good, but there was still a lack of concept expression, and the content was not very clear. I think this may always be a defect in my work, and I will continue to improve it.

Bibliography:

Japanese Animation Guide: The History of Robot Anime：https://mediag.bunka.go.jp/article/article-16539/

Dennis Redmond, Anime and East Asian Culture: Neon Genesis Evangelion:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10509200500486205

Marc Steinberg, Immobile Sections and Trans-Series Movement: Astroboy and the Emergence of Anime

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1746847706068903

Cocoro Books, Kazuhisa Fujie, Martin Foster, Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Unofficial Guide

https://books.google.com.hk/books?hl=zh-CN&lr=&id=2SX3lUu_IPAC&oi=fnd&pg=PA7&dq=mazinga+Z&ots=6HoJP_vSbQ&sig=M9qngW_sHz_lek7ck7QgNltwGtA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=mazinga%20Z&f=false

William Ashbaugh, CONTESTING TRAUMATIC WAR NARRATIVES:

SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO AND MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM

https://brill.com/downloadpdf/book/9789004193215/Bej.9789004182981.i-362_013.pdf

Yoshiyuki Tomino, Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening, Escalation

https://books.google.com.hk/books?hl=zh-CN&lr=&id=xPMaA9Y3w9YC&oi=fnd&pg=PA7&dq=gundam&ots=vFgBjqOkdo&sig=1GdlfR1BYt3H0NFSmsypx9NyzTE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=gundam&f=false

Yoshiyuki Tomino, Gundam and the Future of Japanoid Art

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/368557

Tze-Yue G. Hu,Masao Yokota, Japanese Animation: East Asian Perspectives

https://books.google.com.hk/books?hl=zh-CN&lr=&id=zCNlAwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA223&dq=The+Super+Dimension+Fortress+Macross&ots=lwBg9aXtRW&sig=V4xTb06PSH7_yAd-x6NuxuL9OWc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=The%20Super%20Dimension%20Fortress%20Macross&f=false

Topic2 Final Reflection

What did you learn?

I learned a lot from the project. I just liked robot animation before but I didn’t know much about its development history. I saw a lot, but I didn’t have a systematic understanding of the robot design language. I used to think about why some robot’s arms were designed like this or that, but now I have a more comprehensive understanding of the historical and social reasons behind the whole design.

What feedback did you receive? Any reflections on critique itself?

I received a lot of feedback. Most of them praised me for spending a lot of energy on the final output, and the presentation effect was very good, but there was still a lack of concept expression, and the content was not very clear. I think this may always be a defect in my work, and I will continue to improve it.

What might you do differently in terms of process or content?

If you give me more time, I would like to make it into a physical interactive book. I think the physical book is better than the electronic version of experience.

What was inspiring? What parts?

I tried new software (Twrine)! I walked out of my comfort zone and began to try new things. I played a little game myself, not just painting.

Revisit the assignment prompts: how did your project relate to the original prompts, in terms of critical lens, audience, tone, etc…

My critical lens: In the evolution of robot animation design, the change of international situation, Ideological transformation and the rapid development technology have played a decisive role.

Audience: My audience can be general public or fans of robot animation. Because it is a relaxing and interesting topic for everyone.

Tone: I think my tone is easy and interesting. It’s a role-playing adventure game with a sense of substitution.

How did you balance research and experimentation? Which is easier for you? How can you focus more on the areas that you shy away from?

I spent more time on experimentation than research. Because I think the execution is more interesting and fun, I am always anxious and start to do it without understanding the concept, but I think this is actually wrong, because research is the core and soul of a project and should not be hastily perfunctory.

Ideas, Arrangements, Effects Response

At some point this week, look around you and produce a drawing (or take a picture) of a space that you feel is rich in arrangements. In a style similar to the diagram on page 33, annotate your picture or drawing with the “hard” and “soft” arrangements you can identify.

Map an aspect of your topic to the Ideas/Arrangements/Effects framework. For instance, if you were working with zoos: an idea is that animals should be able to be observed at will by humans; an arrangement is a cage at the zoo; an effect is that animals often become distressed. Since arrangements are “a rich and frequently overlooked terrain for creating change” (32): can you identify a way you could change your identified arrangement, and how that might reflect a different idea, or have a different effect?

idea:

The design changes of robots actually reflect the enjoyment of human beings

 

Arrangement:

Different works serve audiences of different ages

 

effect:

Each age group and era has its own design characteristics

 

 

Change:

The design concept is affected by the times, and the technical productivity and ideology are changing all the time. In the process of evolution, people are also constantly exploring, looking forward to and reflecting on their own future

3 Prototypes

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/MaH2aropWSg?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/3pqIM64thpI?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/BE2Uy3CETS8?feature=share

maps

Topic:

The evolution of design in Mecha Anime

 

Questions:

who are the stakeholders? What influence do the bring to the design?

What are the design characteristics of each era

Assignment 2 topic

Topic: The evolution of design in Mecha Anime

Answers:I will research both Japanese and American style. I find the design trend is very close to what people want themselves to be. The robot is just a mirror to reflect the hope of human beings(flying to the space, change the shapes,being Indestructible)

Great – I see your topic refined to “The robot is just a mirror to reflect the hope of human beings.” The questions to get to a focal point can be along the lines of “why?” Who are the stakeholders in creating this desire (animation companies, robotics industry, etc)? Why do we want to fly to/in space, shape-shift, be Indestructible?

Progress:

Topic: Animation, timeline, robot design

System map: I will research on its origin, history and the culture in different countries. 

Stakeholders: audience, director,toy factory

Critical Analysis: why the design of robot is changing all the times, how does it change,what and who make these changes

Form/Affordances: I want find some way to make audience design there own robots

Metaphor: The growth of mankind itself

Tone: Industrial style

Intended experience/outcome: what kind of things we want most but we can not do by ourselves and need a robot to help us

Jun-Daily Practice day6-1990s p3

ghost in the shell

GHOST IN THE SHELL is also a robort animation, but it is quiet different between the other series. It is the beginning of the concept of cyberpunk. The robort is ourselves.

Jun-Daily Practice day5-1990s p2

Neon Genesis Evangelion

The series explores the experiences and emotions of Evangelion pilots and members of Nerv as they try to prevent Angels from causing more cataclysms. In the process, they are called upon to understand the ultimate causes of events and the motives for human action. The series has been described as a deconstruction of the mecha genre[5] and it features archetypal imagery derived from Shinto cosmology as well as Jewish and Christian mystical traditions, including Midrashic tales and Kabbalah. The psychoanalytic accounts of human behavior put forward by Freud and Jung are also prominently featured.